Aviation

Oregon’s aviation-related firms provide manufacturing, product distribution, and first- and second-tier supply-chain services. Oregon is #1 in the world for production of experimental (kit) aircraft shipments and #1 in the U.S. for heavy lift helicopter companies.

Industry Overview

Although most manufacturing of aviation components and kits is centered on or near public-use airports (like those in Portland, Scappoose, Aurora, Redmond, and Bend), supply-chain and distribution firms exist in at least 15 Oregon communities in both urban and rural areas. They produce or manufacture for avionics, airplane components and assembly, raw material for fabrication, and unique components for specialty aircraft like the “Alaskan Bushwheel.” Aviation customers include individual purchasers as well as major airframe manufacturers in other states (e.g. Cessna Aircraft in Kansas). Oregon’s kit plane manufacturers also provide over 70 percent of all of the kit planes sold within the U.S. each year to global customers. This industry cluster also includes businesses providing local fabrication services, which has led to robust maintenance and repair services for all sizes of aircraft, including balloons and forest-fire fighting airframes. Key competitors for Oregon’s aviation industry include international manufacturers in Brazil, the Czech Republic, Canada and Mexico.Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) now called by the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is a major new growth sector. Oregon has a major foothold in this industry at Hood River, The Dalles, and other nearby cities in the Columbia River Gorge.

Responding to China’s rapid growth of airports and air travel by expanding Oregon’s role as a gateway for aeronautical products and services by increasing current flight training contracts and aviation sales to China and creating a “gateway web site” of Oregon’s aviation companies, with translations in Mandarin.

Developing Centers of Excellence for UAV testing areas.

Increasing buyer/seller connections for Oregon companies through the Northwest Connectory

Maintaining and expanding rural air service locations. This includes experimenting with alternative models of rural air service other than normal airline scheduled air service.

Stabilizing aviation funding (federal and state) for commercial air service and general aviation airports. (Consider transportation mode competition issues relative to funding.)

Continuing work on refining state regulations and zoning standards for airports that coordinates FAA, state, and local interests, while promoting job creation and transportation improvement to rural areas.

Supporting Oregon Department of Aviation in its role fighting for FAA dollars for Oregon airports and aviation needs. (ODA already is a bare bones agency, yet brings large dollars to the state via federal grant programs.)

Coordinating with other clusters on issues:

wind power towers as they relate to airport airspace,

defense related aeronautical projects.

Coordinating aviation maintenance workforce skill needs with community college and other training programs so that workers are able to work with new aviation technologies.

Continuing the attempt to capitalize on the State of Oregon being an early adopter of the Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) next generation FAA airspace monitoring system which will replace radar.

Encouraging the education and training of new pilots, especially among young people, both to help maintain a healthy aviation community, and to put aviation as a career choice on young people’s planning screens. Education in aviation includes training in science, math, weather, flight planning, and equipment operation, which easily transfers to many other fields.

Key Organizations

The Aerospace Industries Coalition is slowly re-forming into the Aviation Cluster, which first convened in 2001. There will be some overlapping representation with the advanced manufacturing cluster, and from the Oregon Aviation Business Association, the Oregon Airport Manager’s Association, and the Oregon Pilot’s Association. Currently, the cluster is loosely organized with 2-4 informal meetings per year of the CEOs of Oregon’s aviation industry. The Oregon Aviation Board sponsored an organizational meeting of 100 of Oregon’s aviation companies at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, on June 21, 2012. Keynote speaker Max Lyons, from Hillsboro Aviation discussed his company’s view of the growing demand for airports, pilots, and aviation services in China.